January 24, 2010
What do you look for in a web host? A low price? Reliability and good support I hope. If you’re anything like today’s ambitious webmaster, you’re on the hunt for the best features. There’s a lot of programs and management tools available to make your site standout but I bet there are some features you pay no mind at all. Often overlooked but one should never forget about critical security features as they will help to keep your web hosting environment protected from an array of threats. Security features are abundant but here some you simply can’t do without:
SFTP
Short for Secure File Transfer Protocol, SFTP is more efficient and secure variation of FTP. In its purest form, FTP only has the ability to transfer files, leaving them vulnerable to a range of security breaches such as eavesdropping, tampering and even interception of the entire file. A web hosting company offering SFTP provides you with the ability to secure your files in transit with SSH (Secure Shell Host), a protocol that protects data with government recommended 128-bit encryption.
SSL
Secure Sockets Layer or SSL, should be incorporated on any website that sells products or services. SSL is a standard encryption protocol designed to keep internet communications secure. If a web hosting company doesn’t support a shared or private SSL certificate, you need to turn in the opposite direction and find yourself another provider.
Data Backups
Data backup and restoration is not only something that should be practiced with the files on your hard drive, but those on the web host’s server as well. All it takes is one technical difficulty or natural disaster for the web hosting company to lose a server and all of your website data. The good thing is that most providers perform redundant backups to ensure that your data can be restored in the event of a failure. To be on the safe side, I recommend looking into a web host that offers a utility that allows you to backup your own data.
Network Security
Aside from protecting your files and website transactions, you also need to keep an eye out for security features that protect the web hosting company’s network. Do a little research to learn how the web host is protecting their infrastructure, keeping in mind that intrusion detection systems, firewalls, DDoS protection, virus and spam filtering are common features. Servers are prime targets of hackers and malicious code writers so if the hardware is breached or goes down, your website will suffer right along with it.
These are just a few of numerous security features a web hosting company should offer to ensure the safety of your website data. Hackers are constantly trying to crack into web servers while malware writers are releasing new infectious strains everyday. A web host that doesn’t take this into mind is essentially leaving you wide open for exploitation.
January 13, 2010
A keyword can be defined as a word or phrase that can be utilized in searching for a website. Keywords can be placed in titles, a body of text, online catalogs, abstracts, indexes, notes and subject headings. Using the right keywords is very important, and keyword optimization, if done correctly, will aid in driving traffic to your site. In order to know which keywords will be most effective for your site, there are a few things that need to be done: 
• Examine your websites’ first page; make sure that it contains a central theme.
• Find the words or phrases that best describe the content on the websites’ first page.
• Make a list of the aforementioned words and/or phrases.
• Do not use highly popular keywords that are being used by a thousand other websites.
• Figure out the popularity of the words you have chosen by utilizing a keyword directory or one of the many keyword suggestion tools.
• You can now narrow your list down to just a few optimal words.
Use the above process for every one of your pages, and you will be able to more effectively optimize the power of your keywords. Remember that when you are determining what keywords will work best for your site, that there are different types of keywords. Knowing about each type will aid in the optimization of your keywords.
When determining what words to use as your keywords, you should first determine what the focus of your website is, what value the websites’ information has to offer, as well as who your target audience is. Knowing these particulars in advance will help you to choose keywords that will be optimal for your website.
Types of Keywords
Generally, keywords can be grouped into three different categories. These categories are as follows:
• Theme Keywords- these types of keywords are used to target a highly specific audience of people. They are normally used on every single page of the site, and are quite effective at boosting page rank.
• Single-word Keywords-these types of keywords are normally used between 5 and 7 times on a page, and are used to target a wide, general audience.
• Multiple-word Keywords- these types of keywords, sometimes referred to as “keyword phrases”, are used to target a specific audience, usually in a specific location. These types of keywords are also good at improving page rank.
Tools to Use
There are many tools available that will allow you to examine just which keywords are overused, which ones are not, and which keywords will best benefit you and your website. Since there are so many tools available, you will need to figure out the one that you are more comfortable using. Some keyword tools are free, while for others there is a charge. Some of the tools that can help you find good keywords for your site are:
• Keyword Search Tools
• Keyword Research Tools
• Keyword Lists
• Keyword Software
• Keyword Databases
All of these tools can be located on the World Wide Web, and will help you in researching certain keywords and phrases and that you may wish to use for your website.
Although finding good, effective keywords can prove to be a bit time consuming, it is better to invest a little more time in order to achieve the best results. Rushing through the process of choosing keywords and incorporating them into the content of your site will just be wasted time, as it will not get traffic to your site, nor will it improve your page rankings with the search engines.
With so many tools and processes available for you to use in your quest to find the right keywords, with a bit of time and patience you should be able to get your site optimized with the right keywords that will prove to be highly effective. Remember that good keywords and keyword phrases are vital to the life of your website. Make the task of finding good keywords a top priority when it comes to your website. You may be pleasantly surprised when your websites’ traffic increases and your page rank goes up with the search engines; all because of a few, well-placed keywords!